Mechano-Chemical Conversion

Abstract

From the middle of the sixteenth century, when the concept of energy emerged and its practical utility began to be appreciated, energy conversion became a principal topic of applied science. The extensive use of heat engines was followed by the development of electromechanical and electrochemical devices. The search for new transformations of energy continues vigorously also in contemporary technology. Several modern methods of energy conversion differ in principle from the classical type represented by the reversible heat engine of Carnot. They are based on the coupling between irreversible flows, such as the coupling between heat flow and flow of electricity in thermoelectric generators. These energy conversions are of particular interest to the biologist, since all living systems derive their mechanical performance from coupling with irreversible metabolic processes. Thus we shall pay special attention to newly investigated transformations of energy.